It’s been almost halfway through 2017, and things can’t get more interesting. Last week some platforms decided to roll out major updates, and we’re not impressed by it.
Changes are not always great; some of them are completely disastrous in one way or another. This week we heard the news that Patreon and Skype have got themselves brand new logomarks and, to be honest, it got us cringe to the moon and back.
The new Skype logo
Throughout the years the Skype logo has undergone several overhauls, but the bubbly blue shape inspired by the speech balloon was still maintained nevertheless. Following an acquisition by Microsoft, Skype’s logo was subsequently changed to the iconic fluffy clouds we’ve known since forever.
Earlier this month, however, Microsoft introduced a newly redesigned logo for Skype along with the app new user interface.
Clouds are gone. Nada. Nein. Nothing. We haven’t even bid our farewell to them. Microsoft also ditched the font from the wordmark and replaced it with the corporate typeface. Now what remains from the world’s one of the most recognizable logos is the logomark “S” surrounded by a sad bubble and the new Skype wordmark.
For the past years we mainly use Skype to help us connect with international clients, so we’re completely taken aback to find out that the major upgrade stripped out not only the familiar blue but also the user interface we’re accustomed to.
Skype is also introducing a new feature called Highlights and Capture that let you take and post photos that will disappear in a week. If anything, it feels more like Snapchat. More and more platforms jumping on this bandwagon. *slow clap*
Don’t get us wrong. The new version of Skype has successfully managed to pack a ton of functional features within the app to compete with other messaging apps like WhatsApp (which now features Snapchat-like Story, too) and FaceTime, and Microsoft has done a great job to keep up with the market demand. However, we still find it hard to get used to it.
While the old logo was slightly awful (but, hey, everyone can instantly recognize it within split seconds!), we still find the playfulness of the clouds a very effective tool to distinguish Skype with other messaging app. It looks great on its own. It’s a different case, however, if Microsoft is aiming for a brand consistency. The new logo does look great when being lined up with the others.
But still, no matter how much we look at it, the combination of the logo and the corporate font just don’t look good together. The thin wordmark looks gangly next to the bubbly and bulky logomark—it feels like two different things put together just to contradict each other. The new logo is effective when being together with other Microsoft products, but not so as a standalone product.
Conclusion
The new Skype is no longer the Skype we used to know (cue Gotye’s song here). We applaud Microsoft’s decision and effort to make Skype a friendlier messaging app for a wider range of audience, but the corporate logo suggests the otherwise. Will it work? Well, we’ll see it later.